Jakarta Fair closes, grosses Rp 35b in sales

JAKARTA (JP): The month-long Jakarta Fair was closed last night by Coordinating Minister for Production and Distribution Hartarto on a mixed note.

Turn-out wise, it was a disappointment with 2.2 million people visiting the fair at the Kemayoran Jakarta Fairgrounds. The organizers had expected three million.

Still, it was an improvement over last year's turnout of 1.95 million, but below 1994's record of 2.4 million visitors.

The organizers said the fair, which was opened by Vice President Try Sutrisno on June 15, grossed a total of Rp 35 billion (US$15 million) in sales, with another Rp 26.2 billion still under negotiation.

Motor vehicles recorded the highest sales with Rp 5.5 billion, followed by household goods with Rp 4 billion, garments Rp 3 billion, and electronics Rp 2.7 billion.

Ichwan -- an official at Martha Tilaar's stand, Indonesia's leading cosmetic producer -- said it had not been a good fair for his company as sales were way below target.

This year, more than 2,600 companies and institutions took part in the fair. Foreign participants came from France, Pakistan, the United States, Iran, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Austria and China. The giant soft drink Coca-Cola also had a huge stand.

Hamid Blourchy, managing director of Fereshteh Tehran Co,. said it had been tough going for his glass decorations, but he hoped to return next year. This is his fourth time participating in the fair.

Hartarto in his closing remarks said the Jakarta Fair has the potential to become a major trade fair in the Asian region. For this to happen, he said, the organizers should improve their professionalism and their promotion of the event.

He also suggested the establishment of more recreation facilities in the fairground in order to attract bigger crowds.

This was the 29th fair, now an annual event held in conjunction with Jakarta's anniversary which falls on June 22. Next year the fair is slated for June 13 to July 12,

Soekardjo Hardjosoewito, director of PT Jakarta International Trade Fair Corp, which organizes the event, said the biggest problem this year was controlling street vendors and keeping them from disturbing traffic around the fairground and the flow of visitors.

The fair itself provided 18,000 seasonal jobs this year. (kod/emb)